This glass building's windows tint automatically based on the brightness of the sun

Architects have long loved glass office buildings. Airy yet
structurally strong, their floor-to-ceiling glass walls provide
plenty of light and make people feel almost like they're outside.

But on sunny days, the windows can create glare or make
glass buildings uncomfortably hot, which leads offices to
jack up the AC and waste energy.

A new glass office building in West Philadelphia, called 3.0 University Place,
aims to eliminate that issue. Its windows will tint automatically
based on the level of brightness, letting the workers inside
enjoy the view while saving electricity.

The 189,000-square-foot building, designed by The Steward
Partnership, is set to be completed by the end of 2018. Much like
light-adaptive lenses in glasses (better known as Transitions),
all of the building's windows will have smart sensors that can
detect sunlight and change color accordingly. The
windows, which are made by SageGlass, can also be
controlled using a remote.

Inside 3.0 University
Place.The Steward
Partnership

The structure will hold offices for local
companies, Michael Sheward, the firm's
principal, tells Tech Insider. The team is still
trying to find an anchor tenant, but Sheward says that
several Fortune 500 Companies are interested.3.0 University Place
will be the world's first commercial building to
get LEED Platinum
certification, meaning it will be
highly eco-friendly, Sheward
says. Platinum is the highest grade given
by LEED, a third-party rating system
administered by the US Green Building Council.

"This rating system is significantly more rigorous than
previous versions with greater focus on energy
savings," Sheward says.

On the building's roof, solar panels and wind turbines will be
stationed to harness energy. The roof will also harvest
rainwater, which will be purified for the building to
use, and feature a garden and spaces to hang out.

In front of the building, there will be bike racks
and preferred parking spaces for hybrid and
electric cars.

3.0 University Place's
roof.The Steward
Partnership

3.0 University Place is part of a larger plan by its developers,
University Place Associates (UPA), to build
a series
of LEED Platinum buildings
in West Philadelphia, called the "Platinum Corridor."

2.0 University Place (UPA's first LEED-certified building) was
built in 2013, and the next three — named 4.0, 5.0, and 6.0
— will feature green spaces, lighting, and public
benches. The public areas will be designed by local urban
planning firm StudioMusArx.

Planning for the Platinum Corridor in West
Philadelphia.StudioMusArx

To build the corridor, the city is re-zoning an area of
West Philadelphia,
according to PlanPhilly. The new buildings will
bring a more commercial feel to the
neighborhood, Sheward says.

They'll also bring the city an unprecedented level of
energy efficiency.